Salon | Letters to the editor

_______________MAIL ROOM DISPATCH ...

Anyone who thinks that passion over literature has died in our media-obsessed, sound-bitten culture can take heart. The mere suggestion that novelist Bret Easton Ellis should take his seat next to Chaucer, Shakespeare and Gertrude Stein in the English literary canon set off an epistolary furor against writer Jonathan Keats, the likes of which Salon rarely sees over non-political issues.
Do white racists get a free pass from the media? Ishmael Reed and Salon's news editor, Joan Walsh, said as much, and most of you agreed. But, say readers, black Republican C.D. Ellison doesn't come down nearly hard enough on GOP racism in his article on the persisting need to correct the scandalous undercount of minority voters after the Supreme Court barred census "sampling" this week (letters below).
Finally, should Microsoft protect itself against software piracy even at the expense of convenience to its customers? In "Microsoft has your number," senior technology correspondent Andrew Leonard argues that the hassle of Office 2000's registration scheme creates unnecessary work for users. Readers weren't so sure. Monopolistic mega-corporation or not, Microsoft has a right to guard its copyright. Or does it? Follow the debate in today's Letters to the Editor.

_______________DOWN FOR THE COUNT BY C.D. ELLISON (01/27/99)

C.D. Ellison's concern for the profound racism in the Republican Party is laughable at best and appalling at worst. While I find that his belief that the Republican Party should make more strides to get fair representation of minorities in the census to be admirable, fundamentally, his motives belie a desire, not to correct the racism inherent in his party, but rather to create the impression that they have been corrected. He says, "Such an undertaking would allow Republicans to preempt their counterparts on the left, and could possibly alter their tattered anti-minority image overnight."
I would argue that he is a part of the problem rather than the solution in his failure to address the real issues at the heart of the GOP's "anti-minority image." As long as men like Trent Lott and Bob Barr, whose well-documented ties to the overtly racist, antisemitic white supremacist group the Council of Conservative Citizens continue to wield power in Congress and the Republican Party, there will continue to be racism in the GOP.
Rather than probe into the real issue behind the GOP's racism, C.D. Ellison would rather look to find solutions that will create the illusion that there isn't a problem at all, thereby perpetuating the problem.
-- Hosanna Stevens
C.D. Ellison must be willfully blind to the Republican stance on race. I don't think it's innate, but it is a whole lot more real than implied by "image." Think of the attacks on affirmative action, the English-only and anti-immigrant campaigns, tax cuts benefiting the rich and the closely held belief that the government does too much for "those people" -- all forming the core of the Republican platform. Would Ellison care to bet on the Republicans vigorously promoting and participating in some door-to-door campaign to ensure a better count of the fiscally deprived?
-- William Cozad
A big problem in the undercount of minorities (and other underclasses such as the homeless) is the rampant distrust of government in those communities. The undercounted populations aren't just failing to make an effort to be counted; they're actively avoiding it. They're afraid that if government notices their existence, it will act to make their lives more difficult.
The Census Bureau, so far as I have seen, really does act in good faith; it gathers information just to provide the most accurate information possible, and does not use the information to persecute anybody. What is needed is an effort to let people know that reporting their existence to a census taker will not lead to life consequences; that the homeless will not be hounded out of their living spaces, that the immigrants who are living with an illegal number of people in their apartments won't be evicted. Frankly, this will be a tough sell. The distrust of government may run too deep. But we have to make the effort.
-- Mark Dulcey
Dorchester, Mass.
C.D. Ellison states that minorities in New York and California were miscounted. I agree to some extent, but it wasn't the minorities that were miscounted, the districts where minorities reside were being mismanaged. In 1990, I lived in West Oakland (I am a white male) and did not see any signs of the census being taken. None of my neighbors were counted. With the Supreme Court and the Congress supporting "the same old way," we need to take matters in our own hands. The minority neighborhoods need to come together and make sure that everyone is counted. We also need help from these city's governments to pressure the census takers to be persistent and accurate to ensure we don't miss another 8.4 million people.
-- Chris Bentley

_______________WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION? BY NICHOLAS CONFESSORE (01/26/99)

While I often agree with your publication's editorial stance, and find your reporting on the arts, media and technology impressive, Salon's transparent partisanship in straight political reporting often undercuts its potential stature as an intellectual forum. Nicholas Confessore's recent piece on Dick Morris is a case in point, turning up the volume on a discredited figure, and in the process proving his point: that you have an ax to grind on the administration's behalf. Attacking Morris, at length, is a waste of space from a journalistic standpoint. Furthermore, you risk squandering your reputation and alienating more thoughtful readers by pursuing the activist approach seen more frequently over the last year. Tone it down. Take the high road a little more often.
-- Steve White
Sherman Oaks, Calif.
I applaud Nicholas Confessore's article on Dick Morris. It is so easy to spot Morris' sneaky, innuendoed half-truths. This man should be sent to liars hell. Those who have hired him have sunk to the level of yellow journalism. I was honestly wondering if anyone else had seen through his bull.
-- Nancy Goodrum
Boise, Idaho
N E X T+P A G E+| What should be done about Microsoft's latest anti-piracy antics?

_______________MAIL ROOM DISPATCH ...
	Anyone who thinks that passion over literature has died in our media-obsessed, sound-bitten culture can take heart. The mere suggestion that novelist Bret Easton Ellis should take his seat next to Chaucer, Shakespeare and Gertrude Stein in the English literary canon set off an epistolary furor against writer Jonathan Keats, the likes of which Salon rarely sees over non-political issues. Do white racists get a free pass from the media? Ishmael Reed and Salon's news editor, Joan Walsh, said as much, and most of you agreed. But, say readers, black Republican C.D. Ellison doesn't come down nearly hard enough on GOP racism in his article on the persisting need to correct the scandalous undercount of minority voters after the Supreme Court barred census "sampling" this week (letters below). Finally, should Microsoft protect itself against software piracy even at the expense of convenience to its customers? In "Microsoft has your number," senior technology correspondent Andrew Leonard argues that the hassle of Office 2000's registration scheme creates unnecessary work for users. Readers weren't so sure. Monopolistic mega-corporation or not, Microsoft has a right to guard its copyright. Or does it? Follow the debate in today's Letters to the Editor.
_______________DOWN FOR THE COUNT BY C.D. ELLISON (01/27/99)
	C.D. Ellison's concern for the profound racism in the Republican Party is laughable at best and appalling at worst. While I find that his belief that the Republican Party should make more strides to get fair representation of minorities in the census to be admirable, fundamentally, his motives belie a desire, not to correct the racism inherent in his party, but rather to create the impression that they have been corrected. He says, "Such an undertaking would allow Republicans to preempt their counterparts on the left, and could possibly alter their tattered anti-minority image overnight." I would argue that he is a part of the problem rather than the solution in his failure to address the real issues at the heart of the GOP's "anti-minority image." As long as men like Trent Lott and Bob Barr, whose well-documented ties to the overtly racist, antisemitic white supremacist group the Council of Conservative Citizens continue to wield power in Congress and the Republican Party, there will continue to be racism in the GOP. Rather than probe into the real issue behind the GOP's racism, C.D. Ellison would rather look to find solutions that will create the illusion that there isn't a problem at all, thereby perpetuating the problem. -- Hosanna Stevens C.D. Ellison must be willfully blind to the Republican stance on race. I don't think it's innate, but it is a whole lot more real than implied by "image." Think of the attacks on affirmative action, the English-only and anti-immigrant campaigns, tax cuts benefiting the rich and the closely held belief that the government does too much for "those people" -- all forming the core of the Republican platform. Would Ellison care to bet on the Republicans vigorously promoting and participating in some door-to-door campaign to ensure a better count of the fiscally deprived? -- William Cozad A big problem in the undercount of minorities (and other underclasses such as the homeless) is the rampant distrust of government in those communities. The undercounted populations aren't just failing to make an effort to be counted; they're actively avoiding it. They're afraid that if government notices their existence, it will act to make their lives more difficult. The Census Bureau, so far as I have seen, really does act in good faith; it gathers information just to provide the most accurate information possible, and does not use the information to persecute anybody. What is needed is an effort to let people know that reporting their existence to a census taker will not lead to life consequences; that the homeless will not be hounded out of their living spaces, that the immigrants who are living with an illegal number of people in their apartments won't be evicted. Frankly, this will be a tough sell. The distrust of government may run too deep. But we have to make the effort. -- Mark Dulcey Dorchester, Mass. C.D. Ellison states that minorities in New York and California were miscounted. I agree to some extent, but it wasn't the minorities that were miscounted, the districts where minorities reside were being mismanaged. In 1990, I lived in West Oakland (I am a white male) and did not see any signs of the census being taken. None of my neighbors were counted. With the Supreme Court and the Congress supporting "the same old way," we need to take matters in our own hands. The minority neighborhoods need to come together and make sure that everyone is counted. We also need help from these city's governments to pressure the census takers to be persistent and accurate to ensure we don't miss another 8.4 million people. -- Chris Bentley
_______________WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION? BY NICHOLAS CONFESSORE (01/26/99)
	While I often agree with your publication's editorial stance, and find your reporting on the arts, media and technology impressive, Salon's transparent partisanship in straight political reporting often undercuts its potential stature as an intellectual forum. Nicholas Confessore's recent piece on Dick Morris is a case in point, turning up the volume on a discredited figure, and in the process proving his point: that you have an ax to grind on the administration's behalf. Attacking Morris, at length, is a waste of space from a journalistic standpoint. Furthermore, you risk squandering your reputation and alienating more thoughtful readers by pursuing the activist approach seen more frequently over the last year. Tone it down. Take the high road a little more often. -- Steve White Sherman Oaks, Calif. I applaud Nicholas Confessore's article on Dick Morris. It is so easy to spot Morris' sneaky, innuendoed half-truths. This man should be sent to liars hell. Those who have hired him have sunk to the level of yellow journalism. I was honestly wondering if anyone else had seen through his bull. -- Nancy Goodrum Boise, Idaho N E X T+P A G E+\| What should be done about Microsoft's latest anti-piracy antics?